Riding grounds maintenance vehicles such as lawn mowers and the like are used by homeowners and professionals alike to care for lawns and other surfaces. These vehicles include a prime mover, e.g., internal combustion engine or electric motor, to power not only an implement (e.g., cutting deck) attached to the vehicle, but also a traction drive system, the latter adapted to propel the vehicle over a ground surface.
Landscape contractors sometimes prefer stand-on mowers or mowers with sulkies, which include an operator platform that is attached to (or, in case of a sulky, towed behind) the mower. Such mowers allow turf to be mowed in an efficient, relatively quick manner as compared to some walk-behind and conventional riding mowers.
One benefit of stand-on mowers is that they are often shorter than conventional riding mowers and, consequently, may be more maneuverable under certain mowing conditions. Typically, stand-on mowers utilize an engine having a horizontally or vertically-oriented drive shaft to provide power, e.g., via endless belts, to both the cutting deck and to the traction drive system. Each drive wheel may utilize its own hydrostatic pump, and each pump may be independently controlled to provide the mower with a very small turning radius and, in some instances, a zero-turning-radius (ZTR) wherein the mower can spin about a midpoint between the two drive wheels.
While effective, stand-on mowers must ensure sufficient space is provided (e.g., proximate the drive shaft) to accommodate power connections to both the implement and traction drive systems. For example, for a vehicle having an engine with a downwardly-extending (vertically-oriented) drive shaft, the engine is generally positioned at a sufficient elevation to allow space below the engine to accommodate both drive shaft pulleys. Such engine positioning may be undesirable for a variety of reasons. For example, an elevated engine may cause the vehicle to have a relatively high center of gravity, and potentially a greater fleeting angle for the drive belt extending between the drive shaft and the implement. Moreover, sufficient space adjacent (e.g., behind) the engine may be needed to accommodate pump placement. As one can appreciate, these design considerations may increase mower height and length.